Tooling around the course is different when you have the right equipment

It’s not often that I’m left speechless on the golf course. But getting to swing top-quality clubs has been such an eye-opening experience, I feel almost blinded by the light I’m finally seeing.

Now I see how the pros regularly hit a driver 330 yards.

Now I see how they feel comfortable with a middle iron in places where we wouldn’t dream of hitting less than a 3-wood.

Now I see how they can hit that power fade right down the middle time after time.

I have played only one round with my new driver, 3-wood and 5-wood, and the difference was incredible.

The main thing was the driver. Normally, if I hit a driver 12 times in a round, I feel pretty good if six of them are in play.

This time, I hit 10 right down the middle and to distances I haven’t visited since my younger days.

The 3-wood gives me a new weapon on shorter par-4s and tighter holes. Now I have a club that makes me feel confident I can keep the ball in play and still get some distance. Learning how to hit it off the fairway is a work in progress, but it feels so good in my hands, I have no doubt that shot will come around.

The funny part was, I would have hit the 3-wood off the tee more, but I was moving the ball so well with the driver, there was no point in switching. I felt as if I could hit it just as straight.

I’m telling you this because I know there are a lot of people out there who love playing our great game, who take it seriously, and who would give anything to swing better equipment.

I have a simple message for you: Save your money and do it right. After swinging these clubs, I am more determined than ever to replace my whole set with the new technology and have all my clubs properly fitted.

I’m going to think real hard about carrying four wedges instead of the usual three (pitching, gap, sand). I’m going to look at possibly adding a hybrid.

And I’m going to get fitted for a putter, too. They say that also makes a big difference.

If you’re like me, you’ll quickly find out that the latest clubs give you much more distance, especially off the tee. But it’s not just that – they also can straighten out your drives considerably.

It got to the point where I just knew that if I took my normal swing, the ball was going to go. Even when I hooked it, which happened once, it wasn’t that ugly duck hook – it was still hit a decent distance but just not as far as the other drives.

I came out of it and hit it right only once, and that wouldn’t have hurt me at all if I’d been playing a course without so much trouble. I can see already that if I’m playing a course that has some bail-out zones, a course where hitting it a little off line isn’t going to kill you, I can just swing away.

I know what some people will say: “Sure, buddy. This is the honeymoon period. Let’s see what happens when you’ve had them for a while. I got new clubs and loved them at first, but then I went back to the way I’ve always played.”

I might agree with that if I was still using the same off-the-rack junk that I’ve swung my whole life. But this feels different. This feels like a marriage made in heaven.

This feels like the way golf is meant to be played. The equipment is so much better nowadays. Why not take advantage of it?